Experiments over the last 50 years have suggested a tentative correlation between the surface (shear) viscosity and the stability of a foam or emulsion. We examine this link theoretically using small-amplitude capillary waves in the presence of a surfactant solution of dilute concentration, where the associated Marangoni and surface viscosity effects are modelled via the Boussinesq–Scriven formulation. The resulting integro-differential initial value problem is solved analytically, and surface viscosity is found to contribute an overall damping effect to the amplitude of the capillary wave with varying degree depending on the length scale of the system. Numerically, we find that the critical damping wavelength increases for increasing surface concentration but the rate of increase remains different for both the surface viscosity and the Marangoni effect.

The propagation of an internal wave in an ocean which is stratified in both temperature and salinity is considered. It is shown how the effects of viscosity, heat conduction and solute diffusion attenuate a cross-wave from an oscillatory disturbance. Under certain conditions there is no wave solution even though the oscillatory frequency is less than the Brunt–Väisälä frequency and the fluid is stably stratified.

High-resolution simulations of forced quasi-geostrophic (QG) turbulence reveal that Charney isotropy develops under a wide range of conditions, and constitutes a preferred state also in β-plane and freely decaying turbulence. There is a clear analogy between two-dimensional and QG turbulence, with a direct enstrophy cascade that is governed by the prediction of Kraichnan (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 47, 1971, p. 525) and an inverse energy cascade following the classic k−5/3 scaling. Furthermore, we find that Charney's prediction of equipartition between the potential and kinetic energy in each of the two horizontal velocity components is approximately fulfilled in the inertial ranges.

A systematic perturbation procedure, based on a small mean flow Mach number and large duct Reynolds number, is employed to formulate and solve an initial-boundary-value problem for acoustic processes in a shear flow contained within a rigid-walled parallel duct. The results describe the general transient evolution of acoustic waves driven by a plane source located at a given duct cross-section. Forced bulk oscillations near the source and oblique wave generation are shown to result from refraction of the basic planar axial disturbance by the shear flow. Refraction also causes the axial waves to exhibit higher-order amplitude variations in the transverse direction. As the source frequency approaches certain critical values, specific refraction-induced oblique waves evolve into amplifying purely transverse waves. As a result, the magnitude of the refraction effect increases with time, and quasi-steady solutions do not exist. The analysis is extended to the thin acoustic boundary layer adjacent to the solid walls to examine the shear-layer structure induced by the variety of acoustic waves in the core flow. Nonlinear effects and acoustic streaming are shown to be negligibly small on the scale of a few axial wavelengths.

The propagation of weakly nonlinear, long internal wave fronts in a contraction is considered in the transcritical limit as a model for the establishment of virtual controls. It is argued that the appropriate equation to describe this process is a variable coefficient Korteweg–de Vries equation. The solutions of this equation are then considered for compressive and rarefaction fronts. Rarefaction fronts exhibit both normal and virtual control solutions. However, the interaction of compressive fronts with contractions is intrinsically unsteady. Here the dynamics take two forms, interactions with the bulk of the front and interactions with individual solitary waves separating off from a front trapped downstream of the contraction.

The linear stability of boundary-layer flow over compliant or flexible surfaces has been studied by Carpenter & Garrad (1985), Yeo (1988) and others on the assumption of local flow parallelism. This assumption is valid at large Reynolds numbers. Non-parallel effects due to growth of the boundary layer gain in significance and importance as one gets to lower Reynolds number. This is especially so for a compliant surface, which can sustain a variety of wall-related instabilities in addition to the Tollmien—Schlichting instabilities (TSI) that are found over rigid surfaces. The present paper investigates the influence of boundary-layer non-parallelism on the TSI and wall-related travelling-wave flutter (TWF) on compliant layers. Corrections to the growth rate of locally parallel theory for boundary-layer non-parallelism are obtained through a multiple-scale analysis. The results indicate that flow non-parallelism has an overall destabilizing influence on the TSI and TWF. Flow non-parallelism is also found to have a very strong destabilizing effect on the branch of TWF that stretches to low Reynolds number. The results obtained have important implications for the design and use of compliant layers at low Reynolds numbers.

We present the linear stability properties and nonlinear evolution of two-dimensional plane Couette flow for a statically stable Boussinesq three-layer fluid of total depth $2h$ between two horizontal plates driven at constant velocity $\pm \unicode[STIX]{x0394}U$. Initially the three layers have equal depth $2h/3$ and densities $\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{0}+\unicode[STIX]{x0394}\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}$, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{0}$ and $\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{0}-\unicode[STIX]{x0394}\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}$, such that $\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{0}\gg \unicode[STIX]{x0394}\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}$. At finite Reynolds and Prandtl number, we demonstrate that this flow is susceptible to two distinct primary linear instabilities for sufficiently large bulk Richardson number $Ri_{B}=g\unicode[STIX]{x0394}\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}h/(\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{0}\unicode[STIX]{x0394}U^{2})$. For a given bulk Richardson number $Ri_{B}$, the zero phase speed ‘Taylor’ instability is always predicted to have the largest growth rate and to be an inherently two-dimensional instability. An inherently viscous instability, reminiscent of the ‘Holmboe’ instability, is also predicted to have a non-zero growth rate. For flows with Prandtl number $Pr=\unicode[STIX]{x1D708}/\unicode[STIX]{x1D705}=1$, where $\unicode[STIX]{x1D708}$ is the kinematic viscosity, and $\unicode[STIX]{x1D705}$ is the diffusivity of the density distribution, we find that the most unstable Taylor instability, maximized across wavenumber and $Ri_{B}$, has a (linear) growth rate which is a non-monotonic function of Reynolds number $Re=\unicode[STIX]{x0394}Uh/\unicode[STIX]{x1D708}$, with a global maximum at $Re=700$ over 50 % larger than the growth rate as $Re\rightarrow \infty$. In a fully nonlinear evolution of the flows with $Re=700$ and $Pr=1$, the two interfaces between the three density layers diffuse more rapidly than the underlying instabilities can grow from small amplitude. Therefore, we investigate numerically the nonlinear evolution of the flow at $Re=600$ and $Pr=300$, and at $Re=5000$ and $Pr=70$ in two-dimensional domains with streamwise extent equal to two wavelengths of the Taylor instability with the largest growth rate. At both sets of parameter values, the primary Taylor instability undergoes a period of identifiable exponential ‘linear’ growth. However, we demonstrate that, unlike the so-called ‘Kelvin–Helmholtz’ instability that it superficially resembles, the Taylor instability’s finite-amplitude state of an elliptical vortex in the middle layer appears not to saturate into a quasiequilibrium state, but is rapidly destroyed by the background shear. The decay process reveals $Re$-dependent secondary processes. For the $Re=600$ simulation, this decay allows the development to finite amplitude of the co-existing primary ‘viscous Holmboe wave instability’, which has a substantially smaller linear growth rate. For the $Re=5000$ simulation, the Taylor instability decay induces a non-trivial modification of the mean velocity and density distributions, which nonlinearly develops into more classical finite-amplitude Holmboe waves. In both cases, the saturated nonlinear Holmboe waves are robust and long-lived in two-dimensional flow.

We study the fluid–structure interaction (FSI) of a compliant panel with developing Blasius boundary-layer flow. The linearised Navier–Stokes equations in velocity–vorticity form are solved using a Helmholtz decomposition coupled with the dynamics of a plate-spring compliant panel couched in finite-difference form. The FSI system is written as an eigenvalue problem and the various flow- and wall-based instabilities are analysed. It is shown that global temporal instability can occur through the interaction of travelling wave flutter (TWF) with a structural mode or as a resonance between Tollmien–Schlichting wave (TSW) instability and discrete structural modes of the compliant panel. The former is independent of compliant panel length and upstream inflow disturbances while the specific behaviour arising from the latter phenomenon is dependent upon the frequency of a disturbance introduced upstream of the compliant panel. The inclusion of axial displacements in the wall model does not lead to any further global instabilities. The dependence of instability-onset Reynolds numbers with structural stiffness and damping for the global modes is quantified. It is also shown that the TWF-based global instability is stabilised as the boundary layer progresses downstream while the TSW-based global instability exhibits discrete resonance-type behaviour as Reynolds number increases. At sufficiently high Reynolds numbers, a globally unstable divergence instability is identified when the wavelength of its wall-based mode is longer than that of the least stable TSW mode. Finally, a non-modal analysis reveals a high level of transient growth when the flow interacts with a compliant panel which has structural properties capable of reducing TSW growth but which is prone to global instability through wall-based modes.

The turbulent flow over monochromatic waves of moderate steepness is studied by means of wall resolved large eddy simulations. The simulations cover a range of wave ages and Reynolds numbers. At low wave ages the form drag is highly sensitive to Reynolds number changes, and the interaction between turbulent and wave-induced stresses increases with Reynolds number. At higher wave ages, the flow enters a quasi-laminar regime where wave-induced stresses are primarily balanced by viscous stresses, and the form drag displays a simple Reynolds number dependence. To exploit the quasi-laminar response to the wave kinematics, we split the flow field into a laminar wave-generated response and a turbulent shear flow. The former is driven by the non-homogeneous boundary conditions, whereas the latter is driven by the laminar solution as well as turbulent stresses. For high wave ages, the splitting enables approximate functional dependencies for the form drag to be formulated. In the low wave age regime, where the wave-induced stresses are tightly connected with higher harmonics in the turbulent stresses, the flow is more challenging to analyse. Nevertheless, the importance of higher harmonics in the turbulent stresses can be quantified by explicitly choosing which modes to include in the split-system forcing.

The effects of large-scale mechanical forcing on the dynamics of rotating turbulent flows are studied by means of direct numerical simulations, systematically varying the nature of the mechanical force in time. We find that the statistically stationary solutions of these flows depend on the nature of the forcing mechanism. Rapidly enough rotating flows with a forcing that has a persistent direction relative to the axis of rotation bifurcate from a non-helical state to a helical state despite the fact that the forcing is non-helical. We demonstrate that the nature of the mechanical force in time and the emergence of helicity have direct implications for the cascade dynamics of these flows, determining the anisotropy in the flow, the energy condensation at large scales and the power-law energy spectra that are consistent with previous findings and phenomenologies under strong and weak turbulence.

A recent theory (Tirumkudulu & Paramati, Phys. Fluids, vol. 25, 2013, 102107) for a radially expanding liquid sheet, that accounts for liquid inertia, interfacial tension and thinning of the liquid sheet while ignoring the inertia of the surrounding gas and viscous effects, shows that such a sheet is convectively unstable to small sinuous disturbances at all frequencies and Weber numbers $(We\equiv {\it\rho}_{l}U^{2}h/{\it\sigma})$. Here, ${\it\rho}_{l}$ and ${\it\sigma}$ are the density and surface tension of the liquid, respectively, $U$ is the speed of the liquid jet, and $h$ is the local sheet thickness. In this study we use a simple non-contact optical technique based on laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) to measure the instantaneous local sheet thickness and displacement of a circular sheet produced by head-on impingement of two laminar jets. When the impingement point is disturbed via acoustic forcing, sinuous waves produced close to the impingement point travel radially outwards. The phase speed of the sinuous wave decreases while the amplitude grows as they propagate radially outwards. Our experimental technique was unable to detect thickness modulations in the presence of forcing, suggesting that the modulations could be smaller than the resolution of our experimental technique. The measured phase speed of the sinuous wave envelope matches with theoretical predictions while there is a qualitative agreement in the case of spatial growth. We show that there is a range of frequencies over which the sheet is unstable due to both aerodynamic interaction and thinning effects, while outside this range, thinning effects dominate. These results imply that a full theory that describes the dynamics of a radially expanding liquid sheet should account for both effects.

This paper considers the stability of a horizontal liquid-metal free surface in the presence of a horizontal alternating magnetic field. A weak formulation is used to derive a generalized Mathieu–Hill equation for the evolution of surface perturbations. Previous studies which rely on time-averaging the electromagnetic force over one field cycle have predicted a generally weak instability, but we find much larger growth rates near the resonances, where the surface wave frequency is an integral multiple of the field frequency. The method can be extended to include viscous and ohmic damping; the former has little effect, while the latter damps all waves except those whose frequency is close to the field frequency. Growth rates can be closely approximated by simple algebraic formulae, as can the critical magnetic field strength for the onset of instability.

An investigation of the structure of jets in rotating systems is presented. The fluid is assumed to be homogeneous and the flow laminar and quasi-geostrophic. When the rate of rotation is small, the dynamics is shown to be identical to that of jets in non-rotating systems, being a balance between inertial terms and lateral dissipation. As the rate of rotation increases the Ekman layers become important and in the strongly rotating case the friction in the Ekman layers dominates lateral dissipation. The jet in a non-rotating system entrains fluid at its edges and the downstream momentum flux is independent of the distance downstream. In the strongly rotating case, however, the jet ejects fluid at its edges and the downstream momentum flux decreases with downstream distance due to dissipation in the Ekman layers. A similarity solution for the general case with both types of friction is obtained and the transition from a jet in which lateral dissipation dominates to one in which Ekman friction is more important is discussed. General features of jets in strongly rotating systems are studied and implications for the Gulf Stream are mentioned.

Laminar boundary layer on a flat plate with zero pressure gradient was excited by a solitary three-dimensional disturbance. The growth of the disturbance was studied using a 10-channel linearized d.c.-coupled hot-wire system. The development of the disturbance flow field was studied and compared with theory by Criminale & Kovasznay (1962). The experimental results indicate a departure from the theory on account of the simplifying assumptions made in the theory. Certain new results were also obtained.

We consider here the flow due to the oscillation of a slender oblate spheroid in a non-homogeneous, rotating fluid confined between two parallel planes which are perpendicular to the (vertical) axis of rotation. The direction of oscillation of the spheroid is perpendicular to the axis of rotation. By solving a set of dual integrals the steady-state solution is obtained in the two cases when the plates are at an infinite distance from the body and when they are at a large but finite distance. The singular or discontinuous surfaces observed in the case of homogeneous fluid are absent here. Also, the steady-state velocity is no longer independent of the distance along the axis of rotation. The velocity has now a vertical gradient, an important feature in the case of stratified fluid. It is also found that the presence of the plane boundaries increases the force on the body.

As a uniformly coiled pipe is wound progressively tighter, centrifugal acceleration would be expected to drive the axial flow increasingly towards the outer wall of the pipe bend. Instead, the effect of bend curvature R is found experimentally to become fully expressed at small curvature ratios (a/R < 0.02), where a is the pipe radius. No further increase in the axial skew is observed in more tightly coiled pipe sections (0.02 [les ] a/R [les ] 0.20). In this ‘asymptotic’ regime where pipe curvature is unimportant, the developing axial skew intensifies as ≈ [(Re − 100) L/a]¼, where $Re = 2\overline{W}a/\nu $ and L is the entrance length. These results suggest that the action of centrifugal force remains balanced by swirl as flow develops in tightly coiled pipes, while in loosely coiled pipes the development of centrifugal effects lags the growth of swirl.

In comparison to the flow in a rigid channel, there is a multifold reduction in the transition Reynolds number for the flow in a microchannel when one of the walls is made sufficiently soft, due to a dynamical instability induced by the fluid–wall coupling, as shown by Verma & Kumaran (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 727, 2013, pp. 407–455). The flow after transition is characterised using particle image velocimetry in the $x{-}y$ plane, where $x$ is the streamwise direction and $y$ is the cross-stream coordinate along the small dimension of the channel of height 0.2–0.3 mm. The flow after transition is characterised by a mean velocity profile that is flatter at the centre and steeper at the walls in comparison to that for a laminar flow. The root mean square of the streamwise fluctuating velocity shows a characteristic sharp increase away from the wall and a maximum close to the wall, as observed in turbulent flows in rigid-walled channels. However, the profile is asymmetric, with a significantly higher maximum close to the soft wall in comparison to that close to the hard wall, and the Reynolds stress is found to be non-zero at the soft wall, indicating that there is a stress exerted by fluid velocity fluctuations on the wall. The maximum of the root mean square of the velocity fluctuations and the Reynolds stress (divided by the fluid density) in the soft-walled microchannel for Reynolds numbers in the range 250–400, when scaled by suitable powers of the maximum velocity, are comparable to those in a rigid channel at Reynolds numbers in the range 5000–20 000. The near-wall velocity profile shows no evidence of a viscous sublayer for $(yv_{\ast }/{\it\nu})$ as low as two, but there is a logarithmic layer for $(yv_{\ast }/{\it\nu})$ up to approximately 30, where the von Karman constants are very different from those for a rigid-walled channel. Here, $v_{\ast }$ is the friction velocity, ${\it\nu}$ is the kinematic viscosity and $y$ is the distance from the soft surface. The surface of the soft wall in contact with the fluid is marked with dye spots to monitor the deformation and motion along the fluid–wall interface. Low-frequency oscillations in the displacement of the surface are observed after transition in both the streamwise and spanwise directions, indicating that the velocity fluctuations are dynamically coupled to motion in the solid.

Many transitional wall-bounded shear flows are characterised by the coexistence in state space of laminar and turbulent regimes. Probing the edge boundary between the two attractors has led in the last decade to the numerical discovery of new (unstable) solutions to the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. However, the iterative bisection method used to compute edge states can become prohibitively costly for large systems. Here we suggest a simple feedback control strategy to stabilise edge states, hence accelerating their numerical identification by several orders of magnitude. The method is illustrated for several configurations of cylindrical pipe flow. Travelling waves solutions are identified as edge states, and can be isolated rapidly in only one short numerical run. A new branch of solutions is also identified. When the edge state is a periodic orbit or chaotic state, the feedback control does not converge precisely to solutions of the uncontrolled system, but nevertheless brings the dynamics very close to the original edge manifold in a single run. We discuss the opportunities offered by the speed and simplicity of this new method to probe the structure of both state space and parameter space.